Local MP welcomes good news for building sector

Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell welcomed the decision of the South Australian Government to use local products and services for the construction of public housing and now the first opportunity for local businesses to take advantage of the newly installed policy is here with tenders opening for a number of public housing projects across South Australia.

“The decision to use SA products for SA public housing is a great result for our local manufacturers and also demonstrates that our state supports its own,” Mr Bell said. “There’s recently been record State Government investment in our public housing sector, of $177m for 400 new homes. This decision will deliver a real confidence boost to both our building and manufacturing sectors, support local jobs and show that it is a strong advantage to be South Australian based.

“Obviously Mount Gambier is already wellknown for its timber mills and although local products are already being used for housing frames, Mount Gambier timber could now be utilised right across South Australia.

“There’s multiple products that go into a new home, including timber frames, bricks, concrete and steel for roofing and reinforcing, and our state is already producing most of these. “So not only will this benefit our existing manufacturing industry, this mandate could also spawn new manufacturing industries for our region, as proactive businesses seek to fill the gaps with uniquely South Australian products.”

Tenders for the construction of 133 new homes were released last as the State Government continued to accelerate plans to build 400 new public housing homes, getting more South Australians into secure and affordable housing.

The SA Housing Authority (SAHA) has released tenders for the new builds in Kilburn, Broadview, Felixstow, Woodville, Edwardstown, Paradise, Hectorville, Whyalla, Port Augusta, Renmark and Mount Gambier.

Construction is expected to be completed in 2024. Of the 133 new homes, 103 are part of the government’s commitment to build 400 additional new public housing homes under the $177.5 million Public Housing Improvement Program (PHIP) that was fully funded in Labor’s first budget.

An election commitment, the PHIP will also see 350 empty public housing properties upgraded so they can be homes again for people in need and extra maintenance carried out on 3000 more homes. The upgrades and extra maintenance will be supported by an investment of more than $40 million.

In addition to these new tenders, a further 81 homes are already contracted for construction, with 71 underway and 10 in the final stages of planning approval. Locations include Salisbury, St Mary’s, Parafield, Elizabeth, North Plympton and Croydon, as well as Mount Gambier and Murray Bridge.

Tenders have been released to SAHA’s panel of pre-qualified builders and applications close at 2pm on February 21. If new builders wish to join the panel, they can register their interest by contacting the Authority.